A derogatory and racially offensive term makes its way to toy aisles across the country in the form of a baby doll, and a Greensboro shopper's complaint got immediate corporate action.

"I couldn't believe it," John Taylor said.

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Taylor said he couldn't believe seeing the doll on the shelves at Costco in Greensboro.

"Seeing that, it all just brought everything back to me," he said.

Taylor said the African-American doll with the phrase "little monkey" on its hat reminded him of the discrimination he experienced before the civil rights movement, he said. He complained to management, and his concerns reached the corporate offices in Washington.

"They need to watch and see what they're putting out into the stores," Taylor said.

A Costco vice president said Costco buyers immediately decided the doll had the potential to offend and pulled them from all stores after only about a day on the shelves.

"When I first looked at it, no I don't think anything about it, but now that I see the little monkey," said shopper Teresa Slaughter. "Yes, I can see where that would probably present a problem."

"I'd like to know who made it," said shopper Dee Williams. "That's a negative impact for an African-American."

Brasskey Keepsakes, also of Washington, sold the dolls exclusively to Costco. The CEO said the racial insensitivity wasn't apparent during the design stages in part because the dolls are a set of three that also portray white and Hispanic ethnicities.

Brasskey's CEO said, "It is so unfortunate that they have been portrayed that way. The dolls were in no way meant to be disrespectful."

"I think, when you look at it in the big picture, it's more an issue of lack of sensitivity than some intent to be racist," said Wake Forest University business professor Derrick Boone.

Boone said Costco responded correctly to the complaint and said this is an example he'll use in the classroom.

"An incident such as this demonstrates the need for greater sensitivity and the value of diversity of opinions," he said.